Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’
Louise Gartner: Wheat paces sideways
May 25, 2010 ecommerce2 | UncategorizedWheat markets looked like they did a lot of nothing last week, barely moving sideways in a very narrow trading range and ending the week about unchanged. While price action didn’t give us much to talk about, the mere fact that wheat held at the contract lows as were heading into harvest did get some attention.
While much of May has been spent in a downtrend, the bearish momentum appears to be waning in the last week or so. Spillover support from corn has added an element of support to wheat and has plenty of people talking that wheat could see more buyers step up if we get more weakness. Chinese corn futures have steadily moved higher as dry conditions in their major corn producing region have caused planting delays. The subsequent purchases of US corn by China, with rumors of much more in the works, have created a great deal of buying interest in the corn complex.
In the last few weeks, we’ve also heard talk of southern Plains cattle yards looking at using wheat in their rations, which makes corn rallies all that more important to wheat from a price competitive standpoint.
On the flip side, harvest is looming and will likely be adding significant pressure to wheat, unless the rains keep coming. The US dollar continues to push higher with the world economic stress and uncertainty and that will continue to subdue exports, especially against the Europeans who have seen their currency sharply lower against the dollar and their exports rise much higher than expected as a result.
While we are gearing up for the start of winter wheat harvest here in the US, and feeling comfortable with yield prospects, the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is still prone to weather issues. Europe jumped onto the radar recently as France, the EU’s largest wheat producer, has experienced very hot and dry conditions and is already lowering yield prospects. Eastern Europe still looks generally good, but as we move further east into the spring wheat areas of Russia and Kazakhstan, we see very dry conditions there as well. China has also seen much warmer and dryer than normal conditions in its spring wheat region.
While spring wheat might not be faring so well in other parts of the world, here in the US most spring wheat regions have had abundant moisture and plantings have been on schedule. This could be the making of another low protein spring wheat crop here in the US which could make for some very strong premiums down the road, but that remains to be seen.
In the Southern Hemisphere, Argentina has reported that they will export 2-3 MMT of wheat this marketing year after being absent from the export market the last few years. Australia is looking at very good planting conditions as weekend rains brought plenty of moisture to their western growing regions, the largest producing area of the country. They, too, will have plenty of wheat for export and their currency has also dropped sharply in the last few weeks.
For now, it looks like wheat will follow the normal seasonal pattern and continue to slip lower as harvest progresses. At the same time, we have to very watchful of weather in the Midwest; if the US corn crop gets into trouble, price rallies there would certainly be supportive to wheat as well.
This publication is strictly the opinion of its writer and is intended solely for informative purposes. It is not to be construed, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or trade in any commodities or securities herein named. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is in no way guaranteed. Futures and options trading always involve risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
FFA leaders working to change the face of agriculture
May 21, 2010 ecommerce2 | UncategorizedKrista Lottinville and Samantha Werner have their sights set on agriculture. As participants at the first annual Women Changing the Face of Agriculture career extravaganza sponsored by Illinois AgriWomen in Bloomington, Illinois, last month, their enthusiasm was contagious.
The 2 University of Illinois seniors were one step ahead of the other 125 participants that day. Both already had completed their majors and accepted jobs. Kristin, an agriculture business major, is working at Illinois Farm Bureau as a manager trainee. Samantha is using her degree in agriculture farm management to train for a position in research, sales, and production at Pioneer Hi-Bred International.
“My dream job is one in sales where I can spend my day outside, talking with farmers,” Samantha said.
The 2 were there to show their support for career opportunities in agriculture for women. The event, held at the Interstate Center, drew from high school FFA students, Post-Secondary Agriculture Students (PAS), and other college and university students.
“I’m excited to be here today,” said Ellen Reeder, state FFA reporter. “In the future I plan to attend the University of Illinois and major in ag communications with a minor in crop sciences. My dream job would be to work for an ag company in public relations and advertising.”
They took advantage of the opportunity to meet 95 women working in an array of agricultural careers. During break-out sessions, these mentors shared with them the education requirements for their jobs, internship opportunities, and their perspectives about the long-term outlook for agriculture and for women in the field.
“As we grow up, we tend to seek career tracks that we’re familiar with,” said Penny Lauritzen, an organizer and Illinois AgriWomen member and a Certified Financial Planner at Farm Financial Strategies, Inc. “Agriculture represents 17% of our nation’s gross national product, and provides 1 in every 6 jobs. As future job-seekers, it’s important for these young women to learn more about the potential opportunities so they can make accurate decisions about their future.”
Next year’s Women Changing the Face of Agriculture extravaganza will be held March 4, 2011, at the Bone Student Center, Illinois State University in Bloomington, Illinois.
Building Threat to U.S. Agriculture
May 20, 2010 ecommerce2 | UncategorizedPerhaps one of the most significant transitions taking place in Brazilian agriculture is the development of that country’s livestock infrastructure. The cattle are there, and the country is already the largest exporter of beef in the world. But it lacked the industry in the main cattle-growing regions. That’s changing quickly.
The Top Producer Frontier Study Tour recently visited a prime example of this transformation at the JBS beef plant in the Diamantino (GEE-ah-mon-gee-no) region of Mato Grosso. The facility has a capacity of 3,000 head per day, though it is currently processing about 1,700 head per day due to a slow worldwide economy and the fact that it is trucking all the livestock to the plant from throughout Mato Grosso.
The plant does have plans to grow far beyond its current production as it expands to add a feedlot and housing for the employees to work at the plant and in the supporting industry. It is essentially building its own infrastructure from the plant out.
With 25 million head of mostly grass-fed cattle in Mato Grosso alone, the opportunities are astounding. In fact, farmers like Ricardo Silva who is a Mato Grosso soybean producer and the 2nd in command of the Mato Grosso Soybean producer association, Aprosoja, says this livestock development is opening a new crop rotation for his farm.
Aside from beef expansion, there is also emphasis on pork and poultry development. A 150,000 head-capacity chicken processing plant in the east-Brazilian state of Bahia is just months from opening. And it’s already set up for expansion and will double in size when demand makes it feasible.
While the group didn’t tour the hog facility just 10 kilometers down the road from the JBS beef plant, they are processing one million head per year at this plant.
The public and the government are behind these plans to build the industry, at least for now. With this rapid development of slaughtering capacity and the transportation systems to back it up, look for Brazil to become even more of a major player in the worldwide protein market.
Avoid crop damage when spraying frost-damaged corn
May 19, 2010 ecommerce2 | UncategorizedIf your corn got nipped by frost earlier this month, make sure you’re not doing more harm than good when you go put down herbicide.
Many product labels use plant height or leaf number for the basis for application. But, leaf damage is typical when plants are hit by frost, meaning those plants often appear less developed than they really are, says Iowa State University Extension agronomist Bob Hartzler.
“For many herbicides, application restrictions on the product label are based on factors other than corn developmental stages and injury potential,” Hartzler says. “Thus, misjudging the corn’s stage of development should not increase the potential for injury in those cases.”
That can make it tough to tell whether or not your plants have reached the stage where they can be treated.
“Assume that a field is staged on May 29 and has four visible leaf collars. Normally, you’d call this a V4 plant. However, if this field was planted in mid-April and on May 9 had two emerged leaves that were killed by frost, the actual developmental stage would be V6 rather than V4,” Hartzler says. “With careful examination it might be possible to find remnants of the frosted leaves, but in many cases they will not be present. If staging the corn by height, the same problem of underestimating the stage of development exists.”
This makes it even more important than usual to pay close attention to the label for whatever product you’re applying, as some have more potential to damage frost-nipped plants than others.
“The main concern will be with herbicides for which application restrictions are based on crop tolerance concerns. For example, many sulfonylurea herbicides prohibit broadcast applications beyond the V6 (6 collar) stage,” Hartzler adds. “This restriction is present because applications made later than this may damage the ear since it is initiated at this time. The growth regulator herbicides and Ignite also have application timing restrictions based on crop injury risk.”
Double-check any potential crop damage and tolerance issues with your herbicide representative, Hartzler recommends. And, make sure you have documented each field’s frost damage for reference later on in the season.
“Consider this information when determining the appropriate time for application,” he adds.
IPCC Procedures Probed
May 18, 2010 ecommerce2 | UncategorizedThe external review of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change got underway on May 14 with the IPCC chairman explaining how a key error crept into the panel’s landmark 2007 report.
That report incorrectly predicted that Himalayan glaciers are melting so quickly that they would disappear by 2035. The flawed conclusion about the rate of melting was eventually traced to a 1999 news report.
At the public meeting in Amsterdam, IPCC Chairman Rajendra K. Pachauri explained to the IPCC Review Committee how this error ended up in the 2007 report. Convened by the InterAcademy Council, an organization of the world’s science academies, the committee is conducting an independent review of the IPCC’s procedures and processes at the behest of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (C&EN, March 15, page 13).
”The basic failure was that on the part of the authors themselves in not making sure that this information was authentic and valid. It should have been caught by perhaps the review editor as well, but it didn’t happen,” Pachauri told the review committee. “Somehow it just missed everybody’s attention. It is, in my view, a human failure. We just have to make sure something like this doesn’t happen.”
The report’s inaccurate prediction about the Himalayan glaciers, Pachauri emphasized, “does not take away anything from the fact that these glaciers are melting at a very rapid rate.”
He acknowledged that the IPCC has done a poor job in responding to the discovery of the mistake. “We have been less than adequate in informing the public that this was an error,” he said.
Pachauri asked the review committee to recommend how the IPCC could enhance its skills for communicating with the public.
”We have to prepare ourselves for criticism,” he said. “We have to ensure that we provide the facts, we provide the truth whenever there is criticism.”
The review committee, whose 12 members are economists and scientists drawn from five continents, expects to finish its probe of the IPCC by Aug. 30, said its chairman, Harold T. Shapiro, an economics professor and president emeritus at Princeton University.
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2010 American Chemical Society
Reports: Sudanese opposition leader arrested
May 17, 2010 ecommerce2 | UncategorizedSudanese Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi — once President Omar al-Bashir’s main ally — was arrested Saturday night, according to state media and al-Turabi’s political colleagues.
State-run Ashorooq network said al-Turabi, head of Popular Congress Party (PCP), was detained after remarks he made in a local newspaper criticizing al-Bashir’s regime and its handling of last month’s elections.
Ibrahim al-Senousi, PCP deputy, said that security forces raided al-Turabi’s house and detained him. His secretary, Awad Babakir, added that, “Armed security forces and intelligence agents arrived in three cars and took Dr. al-Turabi to an unknown location.”
Kamal Omar, PCP secretary general said, “the authorities transported al-Turabi to Kober prison in Khartoum for investigation after his arrest around midnight (Saturday).”
Omar also said that military forces took over the PCP newspaper building last night and prevented journalists from entering its premises.
The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Omar al-Imam, said authorities closed the newspaper Saturday night.
CNN could not obtain an official statement from al-Bashir’s government on Sunday.
Al-Turabi has been imprisoned a few times within the last few years, the last time in January 2009.
Al-Bashir seized power in a military coup in 1989 together with his then-close ally al-Turabi, who was long thought to be the power behind al-Bashir’s regime.
In 2000, the president ousted al-Turabi from his post as parliament speaker and stripped him of his political power. Al-Bashir accused al-Turabi of undermining his power.
Al-Turabi later formed the opposition Popular Congress Party.
The oil-rich African nation has been riven by fighting in Darfur and a civil war between north and south.
